Manchin is a dead man walking in WV. In 2018 he received less than 50% of the vote and only won by 3 points. Since then WV has gone completely red. All statewide offices are held by Republicans, except for Manchin.
Republicans are lining up to run against Manchin because they see an easy victory. Trump carried the state by nearly 40 points in 2020, and most of those coal miners are not going to vote for a Dem, no matter what union leaders tell them.
So, aprrove the pipeline deal, it’s needed and it’s a poke in the eye to the enviro-nazis. Not going to make any difference for Manchin, he’s gone after 2024 either way.
Yep. His only chance of survival was to switch parties back in 2020, to give Republicans control of the Senate. In exchange he could have cut a deal with McConnell to support him in the Republican primary. Manchin would have been a far-left wing RINO, but McConnell seems to like those.
Now the only question is whether he is hated more by liberals or conservatives. My bet is that he will be primaried out by the democrats in 2024. If he survives the democrat primary, he will lose big in the general election (Trump carried West Virginia by 20 points in 2020). If he switches parties, he will be primaried out by the Republicans.
At this point, I don't think he could even get a talking head job at ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, etc. I sure hope he has siphoned off enough graft to retire on in 2024.